Louis-Ferdinand Céline. The first few pages of his Journey to the End of the Night were turned and I was reminded of Jean-Paul Sartre, Henry Miller, and Joseph Heller. Céline influenced them all. His writing style was conversational and vulgar, approachable but coarse. His influence goes beyond those I've mentioned and for this reason alone he's worth reading. Be aware, he was a nihilistic, egotistical misanthrope, and the semi-autobiographical Journey to the End of the Night celebrates, rather than hides those qualities. His protagonist Bardamu is not a sympathetic character, and his world is colored by self-serving cynicism and stark observations of a harsh reality stripped of optimism.